I have it on good authority that you will be able to buy new Horrockses dresses by the end of the month. All fans of Horrockses Fashions are excited. This has been a long time coming, the brand owners have brought in London-based manufacturers N16 Vintage and the new Horrockses Fashions will be made on cloth printed in the UK with dresses manufactured in London.

The last time there was an attempt to re-launch was 1983 – but this was unsuccessful. The bedding that was produced in 2011/2012 was on the whole very good, with nice quality cotton and designs adapted from original Horrockses Fashions patterns – I have quite a few examples. Sadly that venture was short lived (although there are examples still available). Then a couple of years ago Ulster Weavers developed some designs for tea-towels and aprons. You may remember the merchandise produced by the V&A around the launch of my book.

My insider information is that the first dress collection from N16 Vintage will be made of duchesse satin (which was used occasionally used by Horrockses in the ’50s). This collection will be retailed via Asos and is aimed at the younger consumer (think proms!). The die-hard fans will probably be more interested in their future cotton-based ‘Ready-to-Wear’ collection and the ‘Limited Edition’ range (vintage repro). The thing that all the ranges have in common is the use of adapted original patterns.

It’s not an easy ask to keep the Horrockses Fashions fan happy – and all of us who have original dresses will be tough to please – so we wait with anticipation mixed with a little of anxiety!